1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for image reconstruction from raw data acquired with an imaging medical examination apparatus, in particular a magnetic resonance tomography apparatus, as well as an image processing device that implements such a method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the use of imaging medical examination devices such as, for example, magnetic resonance tomography systems or computed tomography systems or the like, raw data are initially acquired from which images are created in the framework of an image reconstruction using software. Such images are suitable for inspection by a medical-technical assistant or doctor for further processing or evaluation.
In typical image reconstruction software available today in the medical field, the further processing of the initially present raw data has conventionally been implemented by a “general purpose” processor. Such a general purpose processor is not designed for the requirements that are specifically present in image reconstruction, such that (depending on the algorithm or algorithms used for the reconstruction) the reconstruction can take a considerable amount of time.
It is also known to implement such image reconstruction using software that executes to data calculation on dedicated processors or digital signal processors or matrix processors. Usage of such processors that are optimized (with regard to their speed) for specific tasks also enables only an insufficient utilization of the existing resources; in static systems, because the problem generally exists that such processors can inevitably utilize only a partial range of their resources for an algorithm to be executed. This leads to the situation that the image computer that is charged with the reconstruction must embody a very high number of processors, the existing logic of which is only insufficiently utilized. High costs and undesirably long wait times thereby arise for a user who would like to view the images that are not yet available during or even shortly after the examination.